The Sands of Time
by DandLfiction
Summary: SS RM plan to embark on their annual TJ trip but get lost and fatal illness strikes.
1. Prologue

The Sands of Time

**Author's Note**: Here is a new story for you all. It is going to be a multiple chapter story, although how many chapters is yet to be decided. I'm quite excited about it; it has a good plot so I hope everyone enjoys the first chapter. The story takes place at the end of Season 1, but there is no pregnancy, Ryan is still living in Newport and Seth never sailed off to places unknown.

I know every author will plea for reviews, and I will add my name to the list. I do appreciate each and every one of them, and they will help me to know if it is worth continuing the story. Please be critical and I am open to suggestions.

The title of the story is taken from the '3 Doors Down' song 'Kryptonite'.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

- - -

**Prologue**

- - -

The midday desert sun beat down on the black range rover.

Marissa tipped the final remains of her bottle of arrowhead into her dry mouth.

Ryan tried his cell phone again, cursing when it flashed at him, informing him of the empty battery.

The only sound that could be heard in the quiet vehicle was the sound of Summer's soft sobs from the back seat as she clung to Seth's hand.

"Do you think they'll come?" Marissa asked Ryan with caution, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Ryan turned in his seat to face her, sweat covering his expressionless face. "I don't know."

Marissa turned her head away from him, resting it against the window, silent tears falling down her face.

The silence of the car was then disturbed as Summer's sobs turned into screams.

"It's Seth! He's having a seizure!"

- - -


	2. Chapter 1

The Sands of Time

- - -

**Chapter 1**

**- - -**

Seth Cohen pulled the simple blue duvet back onto his mattress from its creased heap on the floor. His shoulders moved in motion to the blaring guitar riffs that echoed within the four walls of his bedroom from his stereo. He took a step back, feeling the early morning breeze from this open window brush the bare skin of his calves. He shivered slightly, wishing he had bothered to pull on some pajama bottoms.

He looked over at his bed, admiring his best efforts to make it look somewhat presentable. Who only knew what his mother would say if she somehow, using her special 'Mom powers' Seth knew she had, clocked on to what he had his 'mystery visitor' had gotten up to in said bed the night before. Okay, so it would not be that hard for his Mom, even with 'Mom powers', to work out his 'mystery visitor's' identity. It was not as if he was some kind of male slut who had a different 'mystery visitor' every night.

Seth tilted his chin to the side in a way he could only describe as the over-acted 'thinking face' that poor-rated actors tended to overuse in the 'Saved By The Bell' style shows. The face they used when they were having a daydream lined in pink fuzz. Still, to the onlooker Seth reckoned he looked rather minty.

His initial daydream of Seth Cohen and 'mystery visitor' number fifteen, identity code 10654 had suddenly subsided as 'mystery visitor' number one, identity code not applicable, stepped out of his adjoining bathroom in nothing but his Death Cab T-shirt and a thong. A black laced thong at that. He unconsciously smiled a lopsided grin that contained half an ounce of love and half an ounce of impish mischief. He pushed the thoughts and the grin aside as he locked eyes with her, nodding his head towards the bed he was standing besides.

"Pretty good effort huh?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, shrugging her shoulders in annoyance. She began shouting something but Seth could not hear her due to the blare coming from his stereo.

"What?" He shouted back.

This triggered off an angry storm from her to the other side of his bedroom and he watched on in confusion. She pulled the plug on the stereo at the exact same time Seth chose to shout at the top of his lungs.

"I can't hear a word you're saying Summer!"

His eyes bulged immediately and he slapped a hand over his mouth for added drama.

"Shit Summer!" He whispered harshly. "What the hell?!"

"Okay Cohen, I _still_ cannot hear a word you're saying." Summer stated, not bothering to lower her voice, as Seth seemed to be doing.

"What's with the drama?" She asked, one eyebrow raised and hands on hips.

Seth sighed, exasperated, ignoring his girlfriend's question momentarily as he tiptoed in a cartoon like manner towards his bedroom door, cracking it open slightly and peering out. He looked up and down the hallway in both directions. When he was content that the coast was clear, he shut the door carefully and walked back to his bed, perching on the end. He scratched the back of his head before locking eyes with Summer, who looked at him, amused.

"Summer...my _parents_!" He whispered again, wanting to shout 'DUH!' at the top of his lungs for it being the most obvious thing in the world to him.

Summer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she continued to stare at him from the other side of the room. "They don't know I'm here, quit sweating."

"They'll know now they've heard me shout your name at someone that's not _me, _when I'm meant to be in here alooone quietly packing like the good son they think I am. Now that image is tainted Summer, tainted!"

Summer bit her bottom lip seductively as she crossed the room, walking slowly over to him, her eyes never leaving his.

Seth wet his lips as his mouth went dry, recognizing that look on her face immediately. His grin returned as she climbed onto the end of the bed, straddling his lap, resting one knee either side of his thighs. She leaned her upper body forward, pressing her lips ever so slightly against his ear.

"I think I know a way to keep us quiet." She whispered before lightly kissing his earlobe.

Seth sighed in pleasure before snapping back to reality and pushing at his girlfriend's shoulders slightly so that distance was created between them.

"Summer, do you really think that this will keep us quiet?" He asked questioningly.

She leaned into him again, slowly kissing her way down his neck, murmuring in between kisses, "mmm hmmm, we can bite our tongues," and with that she clearly did the opposite of biting her tongue, slowly sliding it down his neck in between soft kisses.

Suddenly, Seth lost all self-control and rational thoughts, putting his hands on Summer's hips, pulling her further onto his lap. His hands slid under the back of the T-shirt she wore, softly caressing the smooth skin of her back. He was definitely not going to refuse these types of advances from his girlfriend. His very hot, very horny girlfriend at that.

This was the second time in a matter of hours that this had happened. Summer had called him last night, the night before his second annual TJ trip, telling him that she was not going to spend another night sleeping alone and that she wanted him over, now. Seth, of course, was never going to get away with 'staying over at Summer's' even though he would inform his parents that there would only be sleeping involved. Neither would he get away with 'going over to Summer's for a study date that just so happens to last all night'.

His parents had never been big on allowing him or Ryan to sleep in the same beds as their girlfriends, under their roof or any other roof for that matter. His Mom had called it 'an example of bad parenting'. However, this had gotten drastically worse when she had caught Seth sneaking back into the house at six am after having spent the past three nights at his girlfriend's house, but claiming he had gone on a field trip with litmag to a Shakespeare conference. Needless to say he was in a lot of trouble after that little fiasco and the 'no sex in the house' rule was in full force.

So, feeling in a rebellious mood and knowing that if by any chance him and Summer were caught, his parents would always have a few days to simmer down whilst he was in Mexico. However, it had only occurred to him that morning that if caught, his parents would most likely ban him from going to Mexico, and that would mean one week _not_ full of unsupervised fun and one week _not_ full of lots and lots of sex with his very hot girlfriend. Ergo, that was why he had been so paranoid this morning and that was why he was trying ever so hard _not_ to get turned on by Summer's lips on his neck, and Summer's hands pulling off his T-shirt, and Summer's hips grinding into his.

He moaned into her hair as his fingers glided through her dark strands and he inhaled the scent of her freshly washed locks.

Summer became even more proactive, pushing gently at Seth's shoulders so that they were both lying on his bed. He tilted his head to capture Summer's lips with his in a hard, urgent kiss.

Breaths became heavier and hands explored as clothes were discarded. Seth thought he might die from sexual frustration right there and then but things got so much worse when Kirsten Cohen's voice sounded outside of Seth's door.

"Seth, breakfast is ready."

He didn't think it was possible that his heart could beat any faster than it already was, but he was ever so wrong about that as it practically leapt out of his chest. He was stunned to silence as he looked up at Summer, who was staring at him with wide eyes and a perfect 'o' shaped mouth.

"Seth? Are you okay? Can I come in?"

The doorknob turned, as if in slow motion, and Seth somehow managed to find his voice before what would be the worst thing that had ever happened to him, happened.

"No! Mom! I'm...uh...I'm packing naked! Yes, that is what I am doing and you, walking in on me all naked and packing? No. Not good for the whole mother/son relationship."

Kirsten fell silent outside the door and Summer stared at him with a mixture of amusement and confusion.

If Kirsten had have walked in at that moment, she would have seen her practically naked son lying on his bed with his practically naked girlfriend lying on top of him, limbs tangled and hands places hands should not be if seen through a mother's eye. Seth would for sure not only be banned from going to Mexico; he'd be grounded for life, no exaggeration. He would also never be able to look his mother in the eye _ever_ again.

"Seth?" Kirsten asked suspiciously. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

Seth sighed, giving Summer a pointed look as he gritted his teeth. "Yes Mom. I'll be down for bagels in two seconds."

Kirsten obviously accepted her son's response as her footsteps retreated down the hallway.

A second of absolute relief passed before Summer immediately scrambled off of Seth, running to pick up her traveling clothes from their neat pile on Seth's computer chair. At the same time Seth pulled out the first T-shirt and pair of pants that he laid hands on from his closet, throwing them on in lightning speed.

"Cohen, how the _hell_ am I going to get out of here?" Summer asked as she pulled on her spaghetti strap vest, uttering a frustrated sigh when she realized it was on back to front.

Seth didn't even bother looking up from his position on the floor as he threw a bunch of clothes into his backpack, seeing as he was meant to have spent the past hour or so packing.

"Window." He muttered simply.

"Uh, you must be kidding me Cohen! I am _not_ climbing out of your second story window and down the wall like Tobey Maguire or whatever!"

Seth looked up at Summer, who was looking at him as if he had three heads. He threw the last T-shirt into his bag before getting up, grabbing Summer's hand and pulling her behind him as they entered the hallway.

As he closed the door, Seth looked at Summer, contemplating for a moment, before pulled her in front of him, one arm around her waist, the other covering her mouth. It probably would have looked funny in a situation other than this one, him kidnapping Summer in his own home. Of course, it was inevitable that she would struggle, and she even resorted to biting the inside of his palm a few times. Seth did not budge though, knowing that it was all too likely that she would make a loud enough noise to attract the attention of his parents if she was not physically forced to shut up.

Seth led them quietly and slowly down the stairs, stopping at the bottom up against the wall, peering his head around the corner to look for any signs of human life.

Suddenly, both Seth and Summer's bodies went still as a body appeared in the hallway. Summer let out a muffled shriek behind Seth's hand, which immediately attracted the attention of the passer-by.

Ryan Attwood looked up and across to the stairs where he saw two bodies pressed up against the wall, trying unsuccessfully to hide. He walked up to them, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

Seth let go of Summer momentarily, as he flayed his arms at Ryan, silently telling him in a very extravagant way to shut his mouth and keep watch for his parents as he shoved Summer out of the front door.

Ryan smiled again, shaking his head at his brother before nodding in agreement to Seth's plea and standing watch by the kitchen door. When he was confident that all was clear, he gave the thumbs up to Seth, who grabbed Summer's hand and ran to the front door, and cracking it open as quietly as possible. He turned to Summer and offered her a small smile and a quick kiss on the lips, before tapping on his watch and holding up ten fingers, signaling that he would be out and ready to go in ten minutes. Summer nodded her head before leaning in for another kiss, then turning and retreating down the Cohen's driveway.

Seth closed the door, turning and resting his back against it as he let out a huge sigh of relief. He then walked up to Ryan, patting him on the back briefly as he walked past.

"Ryan, dude, you are a life saver."

Ryan smirked as he walked with Seth into the kitchen. "Bit of a late night rendezvous was there?"

Seth smiled widely. "Like you wouldn't believe buddy."

They entered the kitchen; both taking a seat at the island where two plates containing plain bagels had been set out in front of each of them.

"Coffee or orange juice boys?" Kirsten asked from the refrigerator.

"Yes please, just OJ please." Ryan replied.

"Seth?"

"No thanks Mom, throat's still a little sore from the old tonsillitis. The throat is still not too partial to mass amounts of swallowing that drinking requires." Seth choked for effect.

"Son, you haven't had fluids since yesterday morning. You must drink something." Sandy interjected.

"He'll be drinking quite a bit in Mexico." Ryan stated, chuckling to himself.

"I certainly hope not." Kirsten whipped her head up from the counter where she was pouring Ryan's orange juice. "Even in Mexico you boys are still underage and I don't want to get a call from the police or the hospital. No repeat of last year. Jimmy is already reluctant enough about letting Marissa go."

"Okay Mom, no sweat." Seth attempted to stop his mother's rant. There will be nothing but coke entering our systems, and that is the coke of the legal and liquid variety."

"Boys, why did I hear the front door close before you came in for breakfast?" Sandy turned around to face the boys from his position in front of the kettle. His large eyebrows raised in question. Kirsten looked up out of interest, eyeing the boys suspiciously.

Seth's heart stopped. "I...well...of course it opened because..." he turned to Ryan for help but Ryan sat there silently, obviously not keen on helping Seth out for a second time that morning.

"...because I was seeing how warm it was outside." Seth summed up carefully, slightly unconvincingly.

His parents both raised their eyebrows.

"You know, the whole debate over long sleeves versus short sleeves. It's very important, all the cool kids are doing it."

"Seth, you're traveling, you'll be in a car where the weather will most likely be very different to the weather at nine am in Newport." Kirsten stated logically.

"Well, I like to be comfortable. Being too hot or too cold, if only for a short amount of time while still in Newport, is not an option for me."

Ryan chuckled besides Seth, and Sandy and Kirsten shared an amused look before everyone went back to eating bagels and coffee.

- - -

Seth and Ryan finished their bagels and went to collect their bags from the bedroom and pool house. The doorbell then sounded and Sandy answered the door to Marissa and Summer.

"Good morning, ladies." Sandy beamed.

"Hey Mr. Cohen." Marissa greeted, entering the house as her eyes searched the hall for Ryan.

"Hey Sandy." Summer offered quietly, waving slightly. Her eyes met Sandy's briefly before hurrying past him and into the entranceway.

"The boys have just gone to collect their things. They'll be down shortly." Sandy stated.

"Thanks." Marissa smiled.

With that Ryan returned from the pool house carrying one hold-all bag, smiling as he approached Marissa. He offered a quiet "hey" before kissing her briefly on the lips, very aware of Sandy standing beside him.

Seth then bounded down the stairs, backpack on his back, and shared a knowing smile with Summer as he spotted her standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hello Summer, my dear. You do look radiant this morning. It is obviously due to the fact that my mind has been refreshed from not seeing you since yesterday afternoon."

Summer's eyes bulged warningly at Seth's less than subtle cover up.

Sandy shook his head in confusion. "Okay, so you kids be careful. Ryan, do you have the map?"

"It's in the Rover." Ryan confirmed.

"Dad, it's Tijuana, not the Amazon. Have faith in our navigation skills oh wise one" Seth said, patting his father's back.

"Watch it son." Sandy joked, smacking the back of Seth's head lightly. "I'll salt your game if you're not careful."

The four teens laughed before Kirsten entered the entranceway to wave them off.

"Be careful and we'll see you in five days." Kirsten smiled.

She approached Ryan, hugging him. He hugged her back awkwardly. She then took Seth in the same motherly hug and offered final good-byes as the teens stepped out of the front door.

"Summer, are my eyes deceiving me or do you only have one bag?" Seth asked as Ryan unlocked the Range Rover and Seth and Summer climbed into the back seat, Ryan and Marissa sitting up front.

"Cohen, check the trunk. Two cases, two bags and a vanity." Summer replied simply.

"Too good to be true." Seth muttered to himself.

Summer stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend before leaning up front and placing her head between Ryan and Marissa.

"Chino, hit the gas! We're going to TJ!"

- - -

Please review. **Chapter 2** coming soon.

- - -


	3. Chapter 2

The Sands of Time 

**Author's Note**: Thanks you to those of you who reviewed the first chapter. The reviews were great and much appreciated. I am slightly unsure about whether to continue due to a lack of response, we'll see how the next few chapters go down.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

**Chapter 2 **

The Range Rover crawled along Pacific Coast Highway at an average speed of ten miles an hour. The early morning rush hour had not yet subsided, and everyone in the vehicle was getting irritable.

"Chino, can't you just use that lane there?" Summer sighed, pointing to the free lane to their right.

"No Summer", Ryan deadpanned, "that's the hard shoulder."

Seth looked over at Summer in disbelief. "Summer, do you actually _drive_? I mean, are you some kind of illegal driver who never took the test?"

Summer gave Seth a pointed look before leaning over and punching him on the upper arm. "Jerk." She concluded.

Marissa turned around from the passenger seat, laughing. "You two haven't changed one bit since last year."

Summer scowled at her best friend. "Shut up Coop. This time last year would I have done this?"

She grabbed Seth's face, placing a hand on either cheek, and pulled his face towards her own, taking his bottom lip between hers in a slow kiss.

Seth was stunned, but it didn't take him long before his hands moved to Summer's waist, and he began to kiss her back. His enjoyment was soon cut short however, as she pulled away as soon as he started to get into the kiss. Seth looked at Summer with surprise and annoyance, his eyes widening in a question of why the hell had she stopped?

"Just making a point Cohen. Don't get all excitable now."

Seth sighed angrily, distancing himself from Summer as he moved to the far left of the back seat.

Marissa turned around to face Summer again, eyebrows raising as she smugly stated, "Point made."

A deadly silence then fell throughout the vehicle. Ryan drummed his fingers to a silent beat on the steering wheel.

Marissa pulled down the sun visor to access the mirror, admiring her reflection and reapplying her Channel lip-gloss.

Seth and Summer had pushed their bodies into opposite corners of the back seat, their bodies turned away from one another, scowls evident on both of their faces.

"Ryan, dude, just put one some music will ya?" Seth demanded, frostily.

Ryan glanced at his brother through the rear view mirror. "What do you want on?"

"Outkast." Summer stated simply.

Seth snorted, still not facing her. "Are you kidding me? Besides, I don't even _own_ an Outkast CD."

Summer laughed smugly, reaching into her purse. "Well I do." She pulled out a CD case, shoving it in Ryan's face. "Ryan, put this on. Now."

"No Ryan! Do not succumb to the evils of Summer and Hip-Hop. 'The Photo Album' is already in the stereo. Hit play, my good man."

Summer finally turned away from the window to face Seth. "Look Cohen. Every time we're in this friggin' car all I have to listen to is your depressing 'emo' crap. It depresses me! Get over your whole 'I hate the world' attitude and put on something _happy_! Now!"

Seth's eyes bulged at the signs of a rage blackout. He was close to giving in to her before his head was ripped off and used as a bouncy ball, but Marissa was there to save the day.

"Look, we can't agree so let's just not put anything on."

Ryan turned to smile at her briefly. "I can live with that."

Marissa reached over and took his hand, entwining her fingers through Ryan's.

"Okay, eww. Get a room!" Summer stated in disgust.

Seth smiled in amusement. He hoped Summer wouldn't notice because, well, he was still supposedly pissed at her. Why? He could not actually remember.

Summer spotted Seth's smile out of the corner of her eye. She met his eyes and smiled back. She couldn't stay mad at him for long, especially when those dimples made a guest appearance.

She moved a little closer to him, neither of them believing in safety belts seeing as they were hardly even moving. She placed her right hand on the base of Seth's neck, caressing the skin. She was surprised at how much he was sweating, as his neck was soaking wet. This would normally have grossed Summer out but she was quite willing to overlook the minor details right now.

"Are you proving a point again?" Seth asked quietly. The corner of his lips lifting as Summer drew closer.

"Shut up Cohen." Summer laughed, before leaning into Seth and kissing him slowly. One hand remained on the base of his neck as the other went into his hair, fingers twirling around his curls as her body tingled.

Seth's lips softly covered Summer's, returning the kiss as his hands traveled to her hips, pulling her body against his.

Summer pushed the weight of her upper body against Seth's chest, maneuvering them so that they were both lying flat on the back seat.

Marissa heard the quiet moans and shuffling of bodies from behind her and whipped her head around.

"Oh my God! That's just gross." She scoffed, turning back around immediately. When she heard the sounds continue, she turned to Ryan. "Ryan, music, now."

Ryan was not about to disagree, as he hastily pushed the play button and Death Cab blasted through the speakers.

There was no sound of complaint coming from Summer, who blatantly had other things on her mind.

A few hours had passed and Ryan was finally able to drive at a speed above twenty. The rush period had passed and they were now passing through the outskirts of San Diego. The heat was tiring everyone out, including Ryan.

Marissa was sleeping beside him, with her head resting against the window.

Seth and Summer had obviously been worn out by their heavy make out session. Ryan glanced in the rear view mirror to see an extremely funny picture. Seth was lying flat on the back seat with his head resting in Summer's lap. Summer, who was also asleep, had her hands tangled in Seth's hair as if it was some kind of security blanket. Ryan wished he had a camera.

There no one awake to talk to, to keep Ryan alert and no music on, as Summer had threatened to throw her shoe at him if he even touched the play button while she was sleeping. Ryan therefore thought the best plan of action would be to find the nearest Motel and take a nap. He would rather delay their journey for a few hours rather than fall asleep at the wheel.

The next Motel was five minutes down the road, a road sign had pointed out, and as it came into view Ryan laughed at the irony. As the car stopped, the other three passengers stirred and awoke.

"Are we here?" Summer slurred sleepily, her hands stroking Seth's hair soothingly as he slowly woke.

"Nope. I needed a rest, I was getting tired, so we've stopped at a Motel." Ryan replied.

"Hang on." Marissa observed. "Isn't this the same Motel we checked into last year?" She turned to Ryan smiling.

"Sure is." He laughed, getting out of the car and being shocked by the heat and humidity.

"Oh my God, Chino! I am _not_ sleeping in that skanky place again, _ever_!" Summer shouted, as she gently shook Seth, signaling for him to wake up.

"Well you don't have to, _I_ will be sleeping. You can sit on the step if you like." Ryan shot back.

"Geez Ryan, I like you so much better when you're all silent and brooding." Summer sulked, as she held onto Seth's hand, walking with him towards the reception.

Once the room had been booked, and words had been exchanged with the creepy looking reception clerk, who seemed to have quite a fascination with Summer who intending on clinging to Seth for dear life, they all entered one of the family rooms. It had exactly the same set up as the room they had used last year, one twin bed and one sofa bed.

Summer immediately ran to the twin bed, putting her purse onto it and claiming it as hers and Seth's.

"Okay, well I'll just take the sofa bed, even though I'm the driver and I needed the sleep." Ryan stated, agitated.

"Hey dude, I'll take over the driving when we hit the road again, no worries." Seth spoke up in a scratchy voice for the first time since waking up in the car.

Ryan nodded his appreciation as him and Marissa pulled out the sofa bed.

Summer walked over to Seth, who stood on the opposite side of the bed to her. She held both of his hands, looking up into his eyes.

"You feeling okay?" She practically whispered.

Seth smiled, leaning down to place a kiss on the top of Summer's head. "Yeah fine, why?"

She shrugged, placing her head onto his shoulder. "I don't know, you just sound a little funny."

"I'm just a little dizzy is all, probably the heat." Seth whispered, one hand stroking Summer's hair.

"Okay, well go lie down." Summer looked up at him, as Seth leaned down to kiss her softly.

"I'm gonna go get some drinks, I'm dying here." Summer stated as she grabbed her purse, keeping one eye on Seth as he climbed into bed.

"Coop? Chino? Drink orders?"

"Just a water for me Sum, please." Marissa replied as she lay down next to Ryan.

"Coke, please." Ryan replied.

Summer walked over to the bed, perching on the edge next to where Seth lay. She put a hand on his forehead to feel it soaking wet. "What drink sweetie?"

Seth simply shook his head.

"Seth, you have to drink something." Summer pleaded.

"No, my throat is still sore."

"Which means you should drink something, moisten in." Summer pursued.

"Seriously, I'm okay. I just wanna sleep. Go play waitress." Seth joked before rolling over, signaling the end of the conversation.

When Summer returned to the room with four ice cold drinks, she had bought Seth one despite his pleas for her not to, she found Ryan and Marissa cuddled up to one another on the sofa bed, which she still observed as being eww to the nth degree!

Seth had kicked off the sheets and was curled up and sleeping soundly in the bed. Summer smiled as her heart leapt slightly at how adorable and vulnerable Seth looked curled up.

She tiptoed across the room, putting the drinks down on the end table, and shed her jeans so that she was more comfortable. She climbed into the bed next to Seth, rolling him over slightly so he lay on his back. She placed her head on top of his chest and wrapped both of her arms around his chest and her legs around his. She closed her eyes and smiled contentedly as Seth instinctively wrapped his arms around her small body.

Sleep came almost immediately, even though not one of them was aware of what disasters the next day would bring.

Please review. **Chapter 3 **will be posted Tuesday.


	4. Chapter 3

The Sands of Time 

**Author's Note: **Posted as promised. Thank you all so much for the reviews from the last chapter. They really put a smile on my face, so thank you. I will be continuing with the story, so no worries.

This chapter is more of a transition into the next few chapters, when the plot will really start to develop, so to say. I was a bit wary of it being kind of non-eventful and boring, so my apologies if that is the case.

Again, I ask kindly for your great reviews. They push me to write the next chapter ASAP, so just a few words is all I ask.

On with the story...

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Chapter 3 **

The shrill beeping of the ancient alarm clock echoed throughout the room. It shook with the force of the hammer hitting the bells, dust flying off in every direction from the small mechanism.

Summer leaned her left arm over to the end table next to her side of the bed, blindly fumbling in order to silence the alarm. With several attempts and no success, she threw the clock onto the floor furiously. After a deafening crash, the clock rang no more.

Summer listened for signs of life from the others in the room but was met only but silence. Ryan and Marissa slept silently and Seth did not even stir besides her. Either Summer was a really light sleeper, or the others were in comas. She went with the latter.

Forgetting about the smashed alarm clock, and forgetting about how the initial aim of it was to wake them all up so that they could be in Tijuana before sunset, Summer put her head back on to Seth's chest, snuggling up to him closely, before dozing off back to sleep.

Ryan stirred, shifting his weight on top of the thin and bumpy matrice underneath him. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in the alien surroundings. The only thing right about the situation that he had awoken to was his girlfriend's body curled up next to him.

He looked up to see Seth and Summer curled up to one another on the bed adjacent to the sofa bed he and Marissa lay on. Summer snored softly, her head buried in Seth's neck. Ryan chuckled.

He looked over at Marissa, lightly shaking here awake.

"Hey, you awake?" He whispered softly.

Marissa mumbled grumpily. "I am now."

She rubbed her eyes, the same confused look crossing her face due to the change in surroundings. However, the look did not dissipate.

"Ryan, why is it dark?"

Ryan's head whipped around to look out of the window, where the sky was indeed pitch black.

"Shit." He muttered, leaping out of bed. "Seth, Summer, get up now." Ryan demanded, as Marissa ran around the room like a headless chicken, gathering up her clothes and make-up.

Summer's head lifted from its position buried in sheets and Seth's neck, her eyes darting around in confusion.

"Huh?" She mumbled, her eyes squinting as the fluorescent white light illuminated the room.

"The alarm didn't go off, and now it's like," Ryan consulted his wristwatch, "eleven forty five."

Summer looked down at the smashed alarm clock guiltily, subtly leaning over the side of the bed and pushing the mess under the valance sheet with her fingertips. She then looked over at Seth, who had not even stirred. She worriedly bit her bottom lip, remembering his odd behaviour that afternoon.

"Seth, sweetie, we need to get up." She whispered into his ear, before kissing his cheek softly. When Seth did still not show any signs of waking, Summer's heart thudded in her chest as she shook his shoulders.

"Seth, Seth? Don't scare me, come on wake up."

Ryan looked up from the bag he was packing, hearing Summer's raised and panicked voice. He was about to start freaking out, as worse case scenarios popped into his head, just as Seth rolled over onto his stomach, mumbling incoherent words into the pillow.

Summer let out a relieved breath, smacking Seth lightly on the butt. "You ass, you scared me to death."

Seth rolled over onto his side, so that he was looking up at a sitting Summer. "What did I do now? I'm sorry if my deep slumber and _awesome_ dream, which I must state you so gladly ruined, caused you to believe that I was no longer alive."

"Geez, Cohen." Summer smiled slightly. "Only you can reel off nonsense babble after being awake for all of ten seconds."

Seth laughed, rolling over and grabbing Summer's waist, bringing her back down onto the bed. He rolled on top of her, hands cupping her face as he kissed her deeply.

Marissa scoffed, as she walked out of the bathroom. This caused Summer to snap her head up, much to Seth's frustration.

"You can talk, or huff, or whatever Coop. How many times have _we_ had to play spectators to your gross make-out sesh? _Too_ many times, Coop, so excuse me while I go make out with my boyfriend." Summer nodded, proud of her outburst, as she turned back to Seth.

As Summer glanced back at Seth, he bit his lip in an attempt not to burst into fits of laughter. This set Summer off immediately, which in turn set Seth off and the couple collapsed on the bed in a fit of giggles.

Marissa looked on, clearly not amused, before storming back into the bathroom and slamming the door.

Ryan stood motionless at the scene in front of him, before deciding that the best thing to do would be to let things be and get back to putting the sofa bed away.

Several minutes later, Marissa had finally come out of the bathroom after some coaxing from Ryan, and Seth had finally removed himself from the bed, and Summer, and was putting the last of his things in his bag.

"You still okay to drive, man?" Ryan asked Seth, as he sat patiently on the sofa waiting for everyone else to finish up. He wondered what was taking them all so long, seeing as they had not even changed for bed. Ryan then reconsidered this thought, noting that it was Summer and Marissa he was questioning, two of the most vain people he had _ever_ met, and probably would ever meet. It was also Seth, probably the most laid back and most lazy person he would ever meet, so therefore he would probably be here for quite some time.

"Yeah, no problem dude." Seth answered, sitting on the edge of the bed as he leaned down to tie his black converse sneakers.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Summer asked, slightly concerned.

"Summer, let me remind you that you're the bad, scary and potentially illegal driver here. I, am extremely safe so I reply yes, I think that it is a good idea."

Summer raised her eyebrows threateningly at Seth, as she moved to stand a few feet in front of him.

Seth backtracked quickly. "Okay, so not what you meant. Shutting up now before a rage blackout hits me like an unsuspecting disease."

"Shut up Cohen, you're giving me a headache. What I meant was, are you okay to drive after your weird behaviour last night."

Seth looked at her questioningly.

"The dizziness? The gross sweating?" Summer reminded him.

Seth extended his legs out in front of him, wrapping his feet around Summer's waist and pulling her towards him. He smiled up at her in a toothy grin, his heels tapping her butt.

"Do I look sick to you?" He asked, cheerily.

Summer laughed at his behaviour, grabbing his shoe clad feet from behind her, before yanking them hard, laughing loudly as Seth's butt hit the floor with a gigantic thump.

Marissa and Ryan could not help but laugh, as they saw Seth's pathetic looking face crumple up in pain as his whole body jolted from the fall.

"Okay, now I must voice up to not being okay. Summer, you have broken my ass."

The four teenagers emerged from the open planned Motel into the car park, Seth distancing himself from Summer as he rubbed his 'broken ass'. It really was a joke calling it a car park, Seth observed, seeing as it was basically a square piece of concrete that backed onto a half basketball court. A basketball court, which was currently occupied by a group of menacing looking youths, he also noted.

Summer ran up to Seth, closing the distance he had created between them, as the gang drew together, exchanging whispered words and directing pointed glares towards Seth, Summer, Ryan and Marissa.

"Okay, Ryan, I think now would be a good time for you to hand me the keys so that we can make a hasty exit from this potentially bad situation." Seth spoke, in a hushed voice as he willingly grabbed the hand Summer offered to him, protectively pulling her close to his body.

"Working on it." Ryan shot back, nervously fumbling around in the bottom of his bag.

"Hey, you two sweet things." A male voice bellowed a few meters away from them. "How about you ditch those two losers and come find some real men."

Marissa and Summer exchanged worried glances, both latching on tighter to their boyfriends as they finally reached the Range Rover.

"Chino! Hurry!" Summer spat at Ryan, looking behind her briefly to see two guys, about twice Ryan's size, marching towards them. They looked in their twenties, but could have been younger due to their large physic's. She felt Seth look too, sensing her worry, and she managed a brief smile as he pulled her in front of him, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

Ryan finally managed to locate the keys, grabbing the cool feel of metal in his fist and throwing them to Seth. Seth, caught off guard, dropped the keys as he went to grab them leaving them lying in a puddle a few feet behind them and right in front of the approaching men.

"Nice going, Cohen." Summer snarled, almost laughing at the rhyme she had created but finding the situation not in the least bit amusing.

Ryan's eyes found Seth's, in a look of pure terror. Both of them looked on as the inevitable happened.

The largest guy bent down, retrieving the keys from the puddle and waving them triumphantly in front of his face. His friend slapped him on the back, congratulating him on his find.

"You losers looking for these?" He asked, in the same deep and sinister drawl as before.

Seth and Ryan both nodded their heads, unable to form words.

"Hand over the honeys, and we'll hand back the keys." The second guy challenged.

Summer tore her head up from Seth's chest as she heard the words, glancing at Seth briefly. She then did the unthinkable and ran full speed towards the thugs, kicking the key holder in his most sensitive area and grabbing the falling keys as he doubled over in pain. She threw the keys to Seth, who caught them cleanly in the air, before turning around and kicking the other guy as he launched himself at her.

Seth looked on, unable to form words once again. This time pure terror filled him as he observed his tiny girlfriend taking on two guys four times her size. He thought he was about to vomit as one of the men almost flattened her, but his mind was taken off the situation for a few seconds as he caught the flying keys and unlocked the Rover hastily.

"Summer!" He screamed, ordering her to get the hell back over to the car, but only managing to plead it in a one-word scream. He ran to meet her as she legged it back over to him, grabbing her hand and practically throwing her into the passenger seat as he ran around the other side and glided into the driver's seat.

Seth then plucked up the courage to check the rear-view mirror, finally letting out a sigh of relief as he confirmed both guys were still doubled over on the floor. He then floored the gas and sped off out of the car park, feeling like a criminal who was escaping the scene of a robbery.

Several minutes later, when the SUV was back on the straight and narrow and everybody's heart rates had finally slowed down, Seth pulled the car over onto the side of the road. He just turned to stare at Summer ever so seriously, before cupping her face and kissing her. He kissed her as though it was the last kiss he was ever going to give her, filled with such urgency, pain and love. He felt tears sliding down her cheeks and moistening his own, which caused his own eyes to fill up. When he finally pulled away, and she finally let him, he rested his forehead against hers, still holding her face, eyes bearing into her own.

"You scared me to death." Seth whispered, completely forgetting that Ryan and Marissa were in the car. It was only he and Summer at this moment; everything else was blocked from his vision and mind.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered, still fighting tears and emotions.

"Why the hell Summer?" Seth asked in anger and curiosity.

Summer managed to giggle slightly. "They called us honeys."

Seth looked at her in disbelief for a second, before closing his eyes and laughing. Laughing in relief and laughing in adoration before kissing her again, deeply and needing.

This time Marissa did nothing but smile.

Please review. **Chapter 4 **posted Sunday.


	5. Chapter 4

The Sands of Time 

**Author's Note: **First off, I must offer my apologies for being a day late updating. My excuse being, I spent Sunday sleeping due to getting in at 4am Sunday morning from a mud-filled day of music festival fun. So, I am very sorry. I must also take this time to add that Franz Ferdinand rocked my socks. Enough said.

Again, thank you for all your wonderful reviews. They made me laugh and smile, so thank you to each and every one of you who took the time to. Keep them coming!

On with the story...

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

XXX

**Chapter 4 **

The early hours of the morning brought a cool mist to the desert air. It gathered just above the road's surface, giving an eerie look to the surrounding desert landscape.

Seth was bored. In fact, he thought that maybe he had even surpassed boredom, the train had left that station and had moved on to other destinations. He glanced across at Summer, who was sleeping soundly next to him. She was curled up into a ball, her feet pulled up underneath her. One hand lay under her head, acting as a pillow, and the other lay on Seth's lower thigh, clinging to him slightly.

In some ways Summer was keeping him from boredom. He often glanced over at her, when he could afford to take his eyes from the road, just to watch her sleep. It was soothing in a way. She looked so innocent and vulnerable, almost child-like. Those were sides of Summer that she rarely showed. She let her guard down in front of Seth more than anyone else. She cried to him when she was scared, she voiced her fears to him, her dreams to him. However, despite all of this, Seth still felt as though there was a side to Summer that she never showed to anyone but herself. He just hoped that with time and trust, Summer would be able to give all of herself to him.

Seth looked in the rear view mirror, and laughed to himself. Ryan and Marissa were both asleep. Ryan was snoring softly, and Marissa was using Ryan's shoulder as a pillow. What Seth found amusing was the was 'beauty-queen' Marissa seemed to have adopted the classic 'fly-catcher' sleeping pose. Her mouth was open widely in a perfect 'o' shape. This would be the perfect opportunity for Seth to pay her back for ignoring him all those years. One single 'snap' and this not-so-perfect Marissa Cooper would be plastered across every hallway in Harbor. What a start to her Senior year that would be. Then again, Seth was not that type of person. He did not publicly humiliate people purely for his own selfish pleasure, he knew how that felt, he'd had enough shoes peed in to know _exactly_ how that felt. Marissa Copper was his friend now, or at least she was his brother's girlfriend, and how ever confident Seth was that Ryan would find the act amusing deep deep down, he knew that he would show must displeasure towards Seth in order to save his own ass. So, there was going to be no public humiliation this time, he just happily laughed to himself.

Seth's attention was averted from laughing at Marissa Cooper's expense to the road in front of him. The never ending road had finally ended and come to a set of cross roads. Seth strained his eyes to look for familiar landmarks or signs that would direct him to the border, as he knew San Diego well from surf and sailing trips he had taken with his father. However, in the dark this task proved difficult. Seth therefore made a quick decision and went with his gut feeling to turn left. He was 99% sure it was left. Or at least 90%. Okay so 75% at the very very least. He was far too stubborn to consult the road map Ryan had put in the trunk of the SUV. How dumb did you really have to be to get lost on your way to Tijunana? Hello, signposts!

XXX

So obviously you had to be as dumb as Seth Cohen, Seth thought wearily. He checked the digital clock on the dashboard once again. It was four am. They should have been in Tijuana three hours ago. He checked on his passengers quickly. Luckily, they were all still sleeping and so the impending game of 'Kill Seth' would be delayed for a few hours.

Seth had realized he had gotten lost about two hours ago. There had been no road signs for Tijuana since the spontaneous left turn he had taken at the crossroads. However, what had been the real clincher was the road signs for 'Phoenix' that had suddenly popped up out of no where about an hour ago. At first, Seth thought that the Phoenix mentioned was obviously a small town somewhere near the Mexican border, which he was obviously still heading for. However, the 'Welcome to Arizona' sign he had passed ten minutes or so ago had really sealed the deal. What he was glad of was the fact that it was only four am, so the air was still cool. Come sunrise and things would get _really_ interesting.

XXX

Ryan stirred. He seemed to be making quite a habit of waking up in strange surroundings. This time it was not a dingy Motel room in the middle of the desert, but the back seat of a Range Rover in the middle of the desert.

The morning sun beat down onto the black paint of the SUV, making it unbearably hot inside. Ryan squinted against the bright sun seeping in through the windows as he looked at his watch. It was eight am. He looked down to his left shoulder to see Marissa silently sleeping there. Summer seemed to be doing the same in the front seat. It was then that his brain clicked at what was wrong with the situation. He looked at the back of Seth's head in front of him, briefly noticing the damp texture of his curls from the sweat seeping into his hair. Seth was driving silently, oblivious of Ryan's awoken status.

"Seth?" Ryan asked, his one word question bordering on a warning.

Seth jumped slightly, turning around briefly in his seat.

"Ryan, buddy, you're awake." Seth whispered in surprise, his eyes widening slightly as he turned back around, waiting for the inevitable to come.

"Seth, why are we not in Tijuana?" Ryan expanded this time on one word warnings, his voice keeping the same threatening tone.

There it was. "Ryan look, I think you should quiet the tone down dude, I mean, you don't wanna wake up Summer now because really Ryan, I don't wanna die a slow and painful...

"Seth where _are_ we?"

"Well, we're on a road, I am guessing driving East, although I can't be sure on that one right now seeing as..."

"Seth!"

"Arizona Ryan, we're in Arizona." Seth whispered, defeated. His body slumped, ashamed, apprehensive.

"Arizona?!"

Ryan's shouts caused a wave of movement throughout the vehicle. Seth tensed, hands gripping the wheel tightly. Marissa's head flew from Ryan's shoulder as he shouted, bumping against the window causing her to awake in a state of confusion and pain. Summer sprung from her seat, her body immediately awoken by the volume of Ryan's voice from the back seat.

"Okay, time to tune in people of America, 'Kill Seth' is about to begin." Seth muttered, as he held in his breath.

"Okay, I must seriously have been dreaming then because I did _so_ not hear Chino say we were in Arizona. _Right_ Cohen?" An awake and alert Summer threatened, a mere few inches away from Seth.

"Ryan?" Marissa question, still rubbing her head.

"_Seth?"_ Summer expressed angrily.

Seth's hands gripped the wheel tighter, his jaw clenching in unspoken fury and frustration. Had they been awake, these three accusers would have been able to give him a hand, help him out, lead the way, instead of taken selfish naps and leaving Seth to do all the navigating.

He felt three pairs of bulging eyes upon him, but chose not to speak. He did not have the excuses they wanted, the explanations, the apologies.

After a minute of silence, he spotted a rest stop at the side of the road. He pulled the vehicle over, slamming on the brakes out of fury and causing everyone, including himself, to lurch forward in their seats. He killed the engine before slamming his forehead down on the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry." He muttered softly.

"I can't believe this Seth." Ryan injected from the back seat, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh I can!" Summer uttered, her words not laced with the disappointing softness of Ryan's, but with nothing but hard anger. "You got us lost Cohen! Lost in a different state where it's one hundred freaking degrees outside!"

Seth didn't say a word, but kept his head down and eyes closed. He felt like shit, if he was going to be honest. The heat was giving him a dry mouth, and his dry eyes itched like crazy. He needed to get out of the car, otherwise he was not going to be held responsible for his actions.

"I'm going to pee." Was all he could muster up, before opening the door, and slamming it shut.

He leaned his back against the outer car door, resting his head back against the hot paint. His head was spinning, and he had to take a few deep breaths before he could manage to walk on. He blocked out Summer's shouts for him to 'come back and face the music, asshole' as he marched on into the shrubbery at the side of the road, looking for some privacy and closure.

A million thoughts were running through his head at that moment. How he was to blame for all of this mess. Questioning how the _hell_ they were going to find their way home again. At the back of his mind was also the nagging thought of his downward spiraling health. He had been feeling less than fit for a few days now, but had kept in on the quiet, which was _extremely_ unlike him. He was sure he had a fever, seeing as his forehead felt about one hundred degrees hotter than normal. He had also come over extremely dizzy and lethargic on more than one occasion.

As he reached a secluded area, that he summed up was private enough to urinate in, his health took a turn for the worse. Unable to comprehend what was happening to him, Seth grabbed madly in the air for something to steady him. His head was spinning faster than a carousel at hte annual carnival and his vision was blurring more than that of an alcoholic's after ten shots of absinthe. The last thought that entered his mind before his vision blackened and his legs collapsed from underneath him were a silent cry for help.

_I need you Summer Roberts. _

XXX

Please review. **Chapter 5** coming soon.

XXX


	6. Chapter 5

The Sands of Time 

**Author's Note: **I'm pretty impressed with my quick update here. It came after watching too many Scooby Doo cartoons and finding them far too amusing.

Thank you again for the reviews, you guys are great. They mean loads to me, and it's very touching how you're all worried about Seth's well being. I hope I'm not being too mean to him in this chapter. If so, please file your letters of complaint at the bottom of this screen. On with the story...

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

XXX

**Chapter 5 **

XXX

All was silent. There were no birds signing their morning song. No crickets offering a constant background drone. No trucks speeding unnecessarily along the Newport Freeway. Instead, the Arizona sun was creeping west in the cloudless sky, the temperature rising by the second.

The white sands of the desert concealed secrets only the inhabitant reptiles knew of. There was one secret the dried devil grass hid especially well. A young boy was lying unconscious on the sandy landscapes of the Arizona desert, unbeknown to anyone but the reptiles.

XXX

Ryan drummed his fingertips on the headrest in front of him impatiently. It was getting unbearably hot inside the vehicle, even with the windows open. Summer had outwardly refused to have them open at first, due to 'the gross bug things getting in'. However, after thirty seconds of being completely enclosed in the sweltering Range Rover, Summer had stated her preference of mixing with the bugs over being 'sweaty and gross'.

Ryan checked his watch for the billionth time since Seth had stormed off 'to pee'. He had now been gone for fifteen minutes and Ryan was starting to worry. He glanced across at Summer, who was chewing at her freshly manicured nails and whipping her head around, in order to survey the surrounding area, every five seconds. Ryan was obviously not the only one getting worried.

After witnessing another five seconds of her frantic searching, Summer turned around to face Ryan.

"Chino..."

"I'm on it." Ryan reassured her, knowing immediately what she was asking him to do.

He turned to Marissa, who was devouring a bottle of Arrowhead water beside him. Ryan offered her a small smile and she squeezed his hand in gratitude, before he opened the Range Rover's door and stepped into the desert heat.

If he was blown away with the heat and humidity before at the Motel, he was carried away to Oz in a tornado by it now. Ryan forced himself to focus on the task ahead; finding his brother. He told himself not to worry too much. Seth was most likely sitting on the sand, talking to some unfortunate snake, seeing as no one else was up to talking to him at that moment. Seth got like this when people voiced their annoyance at him. He threw a strop like a little kid and distanced himself from everyone around him.

A prime example of this was a few weeks ago. Kirsten had asked Seth to do one small task of putting chlorine into the pool and hot tub while her and Sandy were away for a few days on another of their 'romantic get-a-ways'. Seth, inevitably, had forgotten to do this and when Kirsten and Sandy had returned, it was Seth's unfortunate luck that him and Summer were in the pool. Kirsten had asked Seth if he had kindly remembered to put the chlorine in for the past five days. When all was revealed, Kirsten and Sandy had firmly stated their disappointment in Seth's incompetence to do one simple chore and, in anger, had called him a spoiled child and an exact copy of the other Newport kids. To make things worse, Summer had scampered out of the pool, 'eww-ing' at the fact that the water was 'totally imbalanced', and had stormed off home without even a good-bye. Ryan had not been there to witness the goings-on, as he had been at Marissa's, but when told about it he had felt kind of sorry for Seth. Seth, however, had not done himself any favors by escaping to his boat down on the beach and sailing to a nearby dock, not informing anyone of where he had escaped to. It was clear to assume that this had landed him in even more trouble when he had returned safe and sound that evening.

Although this similarity in events calmed Ryan some, he still worried about Seth. He was younger than Ryan, more naïve than Ryan was and he opened his heart to the world a lot more than Ryan did. Therefore, Ryan automatically felt the need to protect Seth as Trey had done to him. He had felt secure with Trey by his side, ironically, and he hoped Seth felt the same with Ryan by his side.

Ryan stepped into the shrubbery, feeling very thankful that he was wearing pants and not shorts at that moment in time. God only knew what was crawling around his feet. He strained his neck, looking around the mass landscape for any sign of an out of control Jew 'fro.

"Seth." Ryan bellowed, smiling slightly as he heard his voice echo through the vast wilderness.

"Seth!" After listening for any sign of a reply and hearing nothing, Ryan's heart began to beat slightly faster in his chest.

He swallowed in order to relieve the tight feeling in his throat and began to move a little faster, slight panic setting in. He just wanted to find Seth, shout at him some for scaring them all to death, although he was sure Summer had that one covered, and get back to the car. Ryan would for sure be driving the home leg of their journey, not trusting Seth with the wheel again in this lifetime. He would get Marissa to help him navigate their way out of Arizona and back to California so they could get to Mexico sometime before Chrismukkah. He would not trust Seth or Summer with the map, even if they were doing PhD's in Cartography.

Ryan's future plans were cut short as soon as his foot bumped against something solid and body-like. Ryan stood motionless for a very long second, his heart in his throat. He then willed himself to look down and his worst fears were confirmed. He was faced with an unconscious Seth Cohen.

XXX

Summer sighed, extremely bored and irritated with the whole situation. She was also extremely worried about the where-abouts of her boyfriend, but she was trying ever so hard to disguise the overwhelming worry. After all, Seth Cohen had pissed her off. Instead of partying in up in TJ and having lots of hot sex with said boyfriend, she was sat in a two-hundred degree SUV with the boring Siamese twins, well one of them, lost in the desert. Woo frigging hoo.

"Coop, pass me a water." Summer demanded.

"Manners Summer?" Marissa grumbled.

"Coop, I'm thirsty, hot and pissed off. It is not my fault that your annoying and extremely unflattering slurping behind me is causing me to crave water. I have no time for manners."

Marissa rolled her eyes and handed Summer a two liter bottle of water. Summer grabbed it immediately, and practically poured the whole lot down her throat, savoring the feel of the liquid moistening her dry throat. So what if it was warm water and tasted as though it had come straight from the hot faucet in her bathroom at home? It was still water and water in desert heat was _gooood_.

Marissa gasped in horror behind her, which immediately made Summer's heart jump a million miles.

"Summer, you did _not_ just drink all of that two liter bottle?" Marissa's voice was laced with panic and disbelief.

Summer turned around in her seat to face Marissa. "What did you expect Coop? For me to take one sip when I'm _dying_ of thirst?!"

"Summer! That was our last bottle!" Marissa shouted.

"Well you should have told me and not handed me the whole bottle!" Summer retaliated.

In the middle of all the shouting, both girls were totally oblivious to a panic stricken Ryan approaching the vehicle with a limp Seth in his arms. It was only when Ryan banged on Marissa's door at the back of the car that Summer and Marissa became alert.

Marissa jumped a mile, before realizing Ryan was carrying an unconscious Seth, and she opened the door as quickly as she could. Her mouth was not able to form words as she took in the sight in front of her.

"Get out." Was all Ryan said, his tone forceful and instructive enough to let Marissa know the serious nature of his intentions.

She hurried out of the back seat, watching on as Ryan lay Seth's still body down on the seat.

Summer sat glued to the passenger seat. She could not move, speak, or comprehend anything that was happening. Her mouth was so dry as her lips opened and closed, speaking silent words. She could barely hear Ryan calling her name from outside the car and she was not aware of her legs moving her body out of the car and into the back seat where Seth lay.

Her mind snapped into action when she laid her eyes on Seth. His face was so extremely pale and his skin felt so dry as she held onto his hand tightly. Not a single bead of sweat lay upon him as his head rested in her lap. His eyes were closed, but looked ever so sunken, which disturbed Summer greatly. Tears began rolling down her face as the tragedy dawned upon her.

Ryan immediately started the engine and sped off down the desolate desert road.

Marissa was the first to stutter any sound and break the deathly silence that filled the air.

"Wh-what happened?" She asked Ryan, not wanting to look behind her and see Seth in the awful state that he was in.

Ryan gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, so hard that his knuckles turned white. He put his foot to the floor and sped down the track well above the allowed speed limit.

"Ryan?" Marissa asked again, her voice panicked due to Seth's condition and Ryan's abnormal behavior.

"I don't know, okay?! I'm no doctor!" Ryan shouted in frustration, anger and fear.

"Okay". Marissa mumbled, looking away, hurt by his outburst,

Ryan sighed. "I'm sorry. I found him collapsed on the ground. He's breathing, but there's something not right."

They heard Summer whimper from the back seat. Marissa's head turned around, desperately thinking of a way to comfort her best friend.

"It's okay Sum, we'll find a hospital. They'll be able to get Seth the medicine he needs."

"He's so pale." Summer whispered, oblivious to everything but the boy who lay her in her arms. She stroked his hair, willing him to open his eyes.

"Marissa, 911, now." Ryan ordered, throwing the cell phone at his girlfriend. Seth needed to get to a hospital, and soon, because by the looks of things this road was never ending.

Marissa did as instructed, quickly punching in the three digits. She was met with a serious of recorded instructions. When she finally got through to an operator, she began stumbling over her words, nervous and frightened of the connotations the phone call brought.

"I...we...my friend needs help." She stammered.

Marissa then heard a beeping sound in her ear, followed by two words from the operator before the line went dead. Marissa's heart dropped as she took the silver flip phone away from her ear and gaped at the black screen.

Ryan looked across at her, questioning why she had stopped the conversation. Marissa frantically pressed at the power button and her worst fears were confirmed when an empty battery icon flashed up on the display screen.

"Shit!" She shouted, throwing the phone down to the floor.

"What?" Ryan asked, his tone knowledgeable that something was very wrong.

"The fucking phone has no battery!"

Ryan bit his lip, venting his frustration out on the steering wheel as he thumped it hard with his right palm.

"Why the hell didn't you charge it?" Marissa shouted.

"Seth was meant to!" Ryan shot back.

Amongst all the shouting, Summer began to cry harder. "Don't you _dare_ blame this on Seth!" She screamed at Ryan.

"What are we going to do? We're lost and he _needs_ a hospital." Marissa asked frantically.

"We just need to keep driving." Ryan attempted to calm things down. "We must reach a city, or a town, or _anywhere_ with a phone, soon."

Only seconds later, as if the fates had really turned against them, a spluttering sound was heard coming from the Range Rover's engine. Ryan's eyes widened as he pushed his foot down on the gas some more, but nothing happened. He managed to swerve the car to the side of the track, before the engine died altogether.

Ryan's eyes rested on the dashboard display. The needle indicated the gas tank was empty. They were stranded.

XXX

Please review. **Chapter 6 **coming soon.

XXX


	7. Chapter 6

The Sands of Time 

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the semi-lengthy update. I have stopped putting specific update days at the end of chapters because I don't want to promise people a day and then end up not updating. Do not worry though, that does not mean I will be leaving it weeks between updates.

Thank you again to all that reviewed. The reviews really do push me to bang out another chapter, so thank you. In response to **adamismine69**'s review about more dialogue, I know what you mean there, I tend to nod off when reading other stories that have no dialogue, so I have _tried_ to incorporate more. However, with these chapters when it's just the four kids stuck in the desert, it's more based on thoughts than dialogue due to the drama of it all. Also, with Seth sick it kind of cuts down the amount of dialogue seeing as that boy can speak more than the other three put together. So hold out for upcoming chapters when there should be a lot more dialogue.

On with the story...

XXX

**Chapter 6 **

XXX

Silence. Silence in the air, as no creature inhabited the earth or skies. Silence of the dead engine, as it no longer chugged with life. Silence, as nobody uttered a single word, vocal cords stunned to silence. The dead air was still and eerie, and only added to the horror of the situation.

XXX

"What was that?" Marissa asked the inevitable question, prolonging her words as if she did not want the answer to come.

Ryan swallowed the lump in his throat. He grit his teeth to keep himself from having a complete anger attack.

"Ryan?" Marissa asked again, on the verge of tears.

"We have no gas." Was all that Ryan could manage. He practically whispered this statement, giving his voice a dangerous undertone.

"No...no." Marissa's voice broke as she buried her head in her hands, giving way to tears that had threatened to fall all morning.

Summer spoke no words, her tears just increased in volume. She cried into Seth's hair, as she continued to hold him. She had resulted to resting her right hand on his chest, over his heart, reveling in the steady drum. Her left hand lay on his neck, her second and third fingers pressing into his neck where his pulse was. As long as she felt a relatively steady pulse, she would not panic. However, the fact that Seth was not conscious and lying in her arms completely helpless made it really hard to stay calm.

"Shit." Ryan muttered, racking his brain for a solution to this terrible mess. Two emotional girls in tears and one unconscious brother surrounded him. Things could not get much worse.

"Why the hell didn't you fill up?" Marissa declared, her previous upset turning to anger.

"What?" Ryan's voice rose above his previous whispering tone. "Do you _see_ any gas stations around here? Besides, it wasn't me who was driving for the past four hours and got us _lost_!"

His anger and frustration got the better of him and he instantly regretted the last words that came out of his mouth.

"Don't you _dare_ blame Seth!" Summer screamed once again. "Don't you _dare!_ For all we know he's dying! There's something _very_ wrong with him, do you think he had tine to think about _gas_?!"

Marissa turned around, reaching for Summer's hand that lay on Seth's chest. Summer immediately withdrew her hand from Marissa's grasp and placed it back over Seth's heart. Marissa felt nothing but pity for Summer. She knew that if that were Ryan lying there, she would not be holding it together at all.

"Sorry Summer." Ryan muttered sincerely. "I'm just angry and worried as hell. I didn't mean to blame Seth."

"Don't you dare do it again." Summer whispered, hiccuping due to her tears. After a long pause she spoke again. "Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

Ryan turned around in his seat to face Summer. He had kept himself from turning around or looking in the mirror since bringing his unconscious brother back to the car. Now he was seeing his extremely sick and pale brother with his own two eyes, and he almost vomited. It was very clear that Seth needed help and he needed it fast.

"What are we going to do? How are we going to get to a hospital?"

Ryan sighed. Those were two questions he had asked himself over and over within the past few minutes. "Well, we're going to have to pray for a car to pass us sometime soon."

"I haven't seen a car at all since waking up!" Marissa exclaimed.

"Well we haven't been awake long have we? So we don't know the chances of one coming." Ryan argued. "Seth is the one who's been up all night and the only one who'll know the chances of us seeing a car in the next hour, and Seth's..." Ryan hesitated as Marissa shot him a warning look, "...not a lot of help right now."

"So that's it?" Summer asked through more tears. "Our only chance is a car?"

"Well, there's a chance that the emergency services could have tracked the signal to the call and find us."

"I doubt it." Marissa deadpanned. "They'll think it was a prank call."

"Goddamn it!" Summer shouted. "Can't someone go out? Look for something? There _must_ be some sort of civilization around here somewhere!" Her voice now bordered on frustration.

"We're not going to last long out there with no water." Ryan reasoned. "At least in here we have the AC"

"A car will come." Marissa murmured, more to herself than to Summer and Ryan. "A car will come."

XXX

The midday desert sun beat down on the black range rover.

Marissa tipped the final remains of her bottle of arrowhead into her dry mouth.

Ryan tried his cell phone again, cursing when it flashed at him, informing him of the empty battery.

The only sound that could be heard in the quiet vehicle was the sound of Summer's soft sobs from the back seat as she clung to Seth's hand.

"Do you think they'll come?" Marissa asked Ryan with caution, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Ryan turned in his seat to face her, sweat covering his expressionless face. "I don't know."

Marissa turned her head away from him, resting it against the window, silent tears falling down her face.

The silence of the car was then disturbed as Summer's sobs turned into screams.

"It's Seth! He's having a seizure!"

XXX

Summer's breaths came out in panicked spurts as Seth's body jerked and spasmed in her arms. She screamed in fear of Seth's life and also in fear of the horrible scene that was playing out in front of her. His arms were flying everywhere, and his head whipped back and forth sharply.

"Hold his head steady!" Ryan shouted, climbing out of his seat and shoving his body in between the two front seats in order to assist Summer.

He took Seth's thin arms and pinned him down with all his strength in order to keep Seth from hurting himself or Summer. Worry rose in Ryan's throat like the bitter taste of bile. He looked across at Summer, who was squeezing her eyes shut, unable to look at Seth in the state he was in.

"Oh God." Marissa whimpered from the front seat, not able to look at the scene either. She had only ever witnessed people having seizures on ER, and even then the doctors looked as though they had a hard time controlling the patient. Seth had the unfortunate luck of Ryan and Summer attempting to control him, which really would not help his condition.

After a grueling few minutes of hell, Seth stopped seizing. His body lay perfectly still as if nothing had happened. He looked somehow paler than before, but other than that, his appearance had not altered.

"Shit." Ryan uttered for the second time in several minutes.

"Why? Why?" Summer shouted, thumping the seat with her clenched fist.

She then took Seth's head in her hands and bent her head to touch her lips to his burning forehead in a soft kiss. "It's okay baby, it's okay. We're going to get you help, don't worry. Just hold on for me okay? Just hold on for a little longer."

Tears fell down Marissa's cheeks as she listened to Summer's pleas.

Ryan climbed back into the driver's seat. He turned the key in the ignition again in the hope of some miracle happening, but was met with the same empty splutter. He did not bother wasting any more energy on abusing another part of the Range Rover with his fists, he just simply sighed.

"Sandy and Kirsten have no idea." He muttered to himself as the thought popped into his head.

"We can't even contact them." Marissa added.

"They need to know." Summer offered weakly. "They need to know that their son is sick, they _need_ to know Ryan."

"I know, but we have no way of contacting them. We only brought one cell phone between the four of us, and that cell phone is dead. There's no sign of life _anywhere_, no cars, we're screwed."

He then chuckled as a thought occurred to him. "If Seth was awake he'd suggest sending a pigeon with a note rolled up in its cute little beak."

Ryan then considered how odd he must have sounded, for one thing the sublime switch in mood from frustration to amusement and also the words 'cute little' coming out of Ryan Atwood's mouth.

Marissa laughed slightly, raising an eyebrow questioningly at her boyfriend, obviously sharing his thoughts on the matter.

"He would suggest something like that." Summer laughed through her tears. "Seth's a fan of the pigeon."

Her laughter then dissolved into more tears. "Don't die on me Cohen, don't leave me here."

The scene was heartbreaking even to Ryan.

XXX

Sandy Cohen sat at the kitchen island that morning, enjoying his sesame bagel and coffee. His eyes skimmed the headlines on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, and after confirming his disinterest, he turned to the sports section.

Unintentionally, he pulled out the Arts and Leisure section, leaving it to the side for Seth to enjoy. He chuckled to himself when he realized Seth would not read the section for another four days, and even then it would most likely be disregarded seeing as it was 'old news.'

Sandy smiled as his wife entered the kitchen in her white robe.

"Good morning, honey." Sandy offered cheerfully.

"Morning." Kirsten Cohen mumbled, before leaning down to kiss her husband good morning.

"Oh! Not such a good morning for you then?" Sandy exclaimed, a grin plastered across his face.

"I didn't sleep well." Kirsten explained, as she desperately reached for the coffeepot.

"Oh no. You're not still fretting over the idea of Julie Cooper now officially filling the role of the evil stepmother are you? Honey, she was playing that role _long_ before she even met your father."

"No Sandy, I was _not_ substituting Julie Cooper into the story of Cinderella."

"Oh, shame. Because that would make for one interesting dream." Sandy chuckled to himself.

"I don't know," Kirsten carried on, ignoring Sandy. "I just had this feeling and it wasn't a good feeling. Like I had to do something."

"Have you forgotten an important date with the Newpsies? Because heaven forbid..."

"No Sandy." Kirsten cut her husband off. "I can't explain it, it was just this nagging feeling."

"Well, everything's fine. No burglars due to doors being left unlocked, no fires due to ovens being left on and no kids causing unruly havoc."

"Speaking of kids, have Seth or Ryan called this morning?"

Sandy took a long drink from his coffee before answering. "No, no word."

Kirsten sighed. "We told them to call us when they arrived. I might try calling them."

"Already tried." Sandy cut in before Kirsten had a chance to pick up the phone. "It just went straight to voicemail."

He noticed Kirsten's worried expression. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure they're partying too hard to remember to call the old people back home."

Kirsten sent Sandy a pointed look. "Oh that makes me feel a lot better Sandy."

"They're teenagers, adults in fact seeing as they're all eighteen now. We have to accept that they're going to be going out drinking. At least they're legal down there." Sandy reasoned.

"I just don't want a repeat performance of last year."

"Don't worry honey. I highly doubt we'll be picking our kids up from a hospital this year."

XXX

"I seriously think someone should go out there."

Ryan sighed again. It had been an hour since the Range Rover had run out of gas and Summer was really starting to piss him off.

"We've gone through this Summer. We'd probably end up with another one of us passing out if we were to go out there and walk God knows how many miles with no water."

"But what good are we doing Seth by just sitting here?! Nothing! If he has another seizure that could be it!"

Ryan preferred the tearful and silent Summer to the frustrated and nagging Summer. Fair enough, she was terribly worried about Seth, so was he! However it was not going to do Seth, or any of them, any good if they continued to shout at one another.

Before Ryan could offer a justified response, Marissa jumped from her seat and out of the vehicle.

"Car! It's a car!"

Ryan and Summer watched in a stunned silence as Marissa ran into the road, waving her arms madly.

Ryan jumped from his seat and stood beside her, leaving Summer and Seth in the back seat.

They all watched in awe as the red pick-up approached them. Smiles appeared on all of their faces as the pick-up truck slowed down to a halt in front of Ryan and Marissa.

Help had finally arrived.

XXX

Please review. **Chapter 7 **coming soon.

XXX


	8. Chapter 7

The Sands of Time 

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the time taken to update, it's totally my fault and I apologize. I also apologize that this chapter is slightly shorter than the others are. I did not want to dwell too much on the ride to the hospital; it's the next lot of chapters that will play the most importance.

Thank you again for all the reviews. Especially the two who pointed out that they could envisage everything they were reading. That's awesome to hear because that's the main thing I try and convey when I write.

I am going to have to put a downer on things here. I go back to college tomorrow and so it might be a little longer than usual between updates because I don't know when my broadband connection is going to be installed in my new flat. So please bear with me on that one. I really am sorry, but thought I should warn you all in advance.

On with the story...

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

XXX

**Chapter 7 **

XXX

It was whilst in the pick-up truck that Seth awoke for the first time.

Once the truck had pulled up to the side of the track, Ryan had hastily run up to the driver's window, urging Marissa to stay back as they did not know who they were dealing with. Marissa had hurried back to the SUV where Seth and Summer had remained.

As Ryan approached the driver, his heart beat with anxiety. He prayed that this person was willing enough to phone for help for them.

"Hey kid, what's the problem?"

The first thing that Ryan noticed about the stranger was his strong Southern drawl. He had noticed the Arkansas license plate as the truck had pulled up, so that explained the accent.

The second thing that was brought to Ryan's attention was the man's poorly kept appearance. He looked to be in his early forties, but Ryan could not be sure. The man had a tan Ryan assumed was the result of his Southern residence, and had long thin hair of a dirty blonde color that was pulled back into a ponytail. The man wore an old worn baseball cap with the name of a beer scrawled across the front. The rest of his body was attired in a faded T-shirt with cut off sleeves, and ripped jeans. The stranger was not of a very large build, but this did not stop Ryan feeling slightly threatened by him. He looked like the type of man who kept a rifle in his trunk.

"Uh, yeah, it's my brother." Ryan stumbled over his words. "He's really sick and we're lost and we've run out of gas and our phone doesn't work and..."

The man chuckled slightly at Ryan's incessant rambling. "Okay kid, slow down."

"Sorry." Ryan mumbled, unintentionally looking back at the Range Rover to check on the two visible silhouettes.

"That your ride o'er there?" The man asked with curiosity.

"Yes sir."

"Pretty nice wheels. Look kid, I don't have no cell phone or whatever you rich kids got these days."

Ryan's heart fell in his chest.

"But..." The stranger continued, as if sensing Ryan's disappointment. "I'm on my way to the city so you better hurry up and get that brother of yours in the truck."

Ryan smiled instantly. "Thank you, thank you so much sir."

The man smiled back, revealing decayed, yellow teeth. "No problem." He watched Ryan begin to walk off. "And kid...." He called after Ryan.

Ryan turned around, looking slightly apprehensive.

"Call me Bud."

Ryan smiled slightly before jogging back to the Range Rover. Relief flooded over him. Seth was finally going to get the help he needed.

He opened the back door on Summer's side. She looked up at him expectantly.

"He's taking us into the city." Ryan could not help smiling.

"Oh, thank God." Summer's eyes closed in absolute relief.

She let out a huge sigh of relief before carefully lifting her body from underneath Seth's head. She helped Ryan carefully maneuver Seth's body from the back seat. They slid him out and into Ryan's arms. Seth's head flopped back in a disturbing and lifeless manner as Ryan placed one arm under Seth's upper back and one arm under his long legs.

Summer whimpered slightly as she witnessed this, holding onto Seth's hand that dangled down from Ryan's hold.

Marissa gathered up their belongings from the vehicle. She moved to the trunk, remembering their luggage.

"What about our cases?" She asked Ryan.

"They're gonna have to stay there, we don't have time to move them to Bud's truck." He explained.

"Bud?" Marissa and Summer questioned in unison.

"Just be thankful he's helping." Ryan replied, slightly annoyed at their lack of gratitude.

As they approached the truck, Bud opened the door and climbed out to give them a hand. His eyebrows raised as he saw Ryan carrying a lifeless Seth.

"You didn't tell me the boy was 'nconscious." He looked at Seth, slightly worried. "What happ'ned? He's awfu' pale."

"I just found him lying unconscious in the shrubbery." Ryan explained as he helped Bud move Seth into the back seat. "He went for a walk and collapsed."

"Kid needs a hospital, that's fo' sure." Bud confirmed. "You riding in the back wi' ya brother?"

"No, I am." Summer injected forcefully, although her stance of a dipped head and hands wringing together in front of her portrayed a far from forceful girl.

"Oh?" Bud questioned, slightly amused. "You his sis'?"

"Girlfriend." Summer confirmed, with slight disgust at the idea of incest.

"Funny, you look more like his relative than this one does." Bud pondered, pointing at Ryan.

Ryan rolled his eyes, really not wanting to get into the whole complicated discussion about his relationship with Seth when Seth was lying unconscious in the back of a stranger's vehicle. Ryan just wanted to get moving. To make this clear, he climbed into the front seat, shifting over as near to the driver's side as he could to allow room for Marissa. Seeing as she had attached herself to Ryan from the moment Bud had opened his mouth, she followed him inside, pushing herself as close to the door as she could.

"Let's get a move on then." Bud announced catching Ryan's hint.

As Summer closed the door in the back, positioning herself next to Seth in the same way she had done in the Range Rover, Bud started the engine and headed hastily down the desert track.

"So which city are we heading for?" Ryan asked in curiosity.

"Tucson." Bud replied simply.

"Tucson?!" Marissa spoke up for the first time.

"You kids have absolu'ly no idea where in God's name you are?" Bud asked, surprised.

"Not a clue." Ryan said, airily. "How far is it to Tucson?"

"Pro'ly 'bout sixty to seven'y miles. Should be there in an hour."

"Thank God." Summer exclaimed from the back.

"So, you kids from the Golden State I see." Bud observed, glancing back at the license plate on the Range Rover.

"Yeah." Ryan nodded. "We were driving down to Mexico, Tijuana, but kinda got lost."

"You sure did that! Tijuana? You kids sure got sidetracked!" Bud laughed once again, his lighthearted attitude coming as a breath of fresh air for the three conscious teenagers in the truck.

Just as Bud was about to ask another question to keep the atmosphere in the truck from coming to a deadly silence, Seth began to stir. He uttered several moans, before his eyes fluttered open slightly.

"Oh my God, Seth?" Summer screamed, excitement getting the better of her. She grimaced as she saw Seth wince from her high pitched squeals, and immediately lowered her voice to a whisper. "Seth, sweetie, can you hear me?"

Seth's eyes, still only half open, darted around the vehicle from his horizontal position on the back seat. He nodded his head in Summer's lap.

Ryan and Marissa had immediately turned around in their seats, observing Seth's conscious state with eagerness and apprehension.

"Wh-what happened?" Seth croaked, his dry throat making it almost impossible for him to speak.

"You fainted, scared the crap out of us for a moment." Summer smiled down at him, her heart swelling in her chest as Seth huge brown orbs stared back at her with complete vulnerability. She intentionally held back on telling him about his seizure, it would only freak him out and she did not know if his body could take that.

"You okay, boy?" Bud shouted from the front of the vehicle, as if Seth was suffering from lack of hearing as well.

Seth blinked rapidly, his brow furrowing in confusion. He was only able to utter a one-word question. "Who?"

"This is Bud." Summer informed him, taking his hand in hers and kissing the outside of his palm lightly. "He's taking you to the hospital. It's a long story but we're going to get you some help."

Seth groaned again, his eyes squeezing shut as if it hurt to open them.

"Seth?" Summer's heart thudded in her chest as she felt a sudden change in Seth's body. His hand seemed to go limp in hers and his body relaxed against her. "Seth?"

When no reply came, no one could stop the eerie, uncomfortable silence that fell within the vehicle.

"He's gone again!" Summer cried, as she continued to shake Seth's shoulders, urging him awake.

He couldn't do this to her, he couldn't give her hope and then take it away. It was cruel and it was mean and she had done nothing to deserve it.

Ryan simply thumped his head back against the headrest and covered his face with his hands as if attempting to rub away the stress and upset that remained there.

Summer's words haunted him

_'He's gone again.' _

Although not deliberate, the connotations they brought were frightful.

No one spoke another word until they arrived at Tucson County General Hospital fifty minutes later.

XXX

Please review. **Chapter 8** coming as soon as possible.

XXX


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